Bullying and burnout in critical care nurses: A cross-sectional descriptive study

Burnout Among Nurses Working in Critical Care Units During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Burnout is a state of emotional and physical depletion. Its occurrence among critical care nurses (CCNs) is a concept that has gained traction yet remains an issue with global consequences. Nurses are especially vulnerable to burnout due to the persistent stressors they are exposed to, which include the general work environment, biological factors, and emerging changes caused by COVID-19. This study aims to assess the severity of burnout among CCNs during the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated factors. A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire was used in this study to measure the estimated burnout rate among CCNs in Palestine and establish associations with potential factors. Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire was used for the task. The results showed out of the 173 participants, more than 35% reported severe overall burnout. Per burnout domains, it was found that around 70% of participants suffered from low personal accomplishment, while 59.5% had severe levels of depersonalization, and finally, more than 65% of critical nurses had severe emotional exhaustion. Out of the various variables tested, gender, age, type of hospital, PPE, and fear of transmission were found to be associated with overall burnout. CCNs in Palestine were found to be severely burned out and should be dealt with before getting out of hand. The research found variables related to burnout contributed to burnout. Recommendations for further studies and prioritization should be made.

Impact of workplace bullying on job burnout and turnover intention among nursing staff in Greece: Evidence after the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

The prevalence of workplace bullying, job burnout, and turnover intention among nursing staff increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies that have measured the relationships among variables of interest after the pandemic.

Objective

Our intention is to investigate the effect of workplace bullying on job burnout and turnover intention in nursing staff.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study during January-February 2024 in Greece. We obtained a convenience sample of 450 nurses. We used the 22-item Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised to assess workplace bullying. We measured job burnout with the single-item burnout measure. We measured nurses' turnover intention with a valid 6-point Likert scale.

Results

The study sample included 450 nurses with the mean age of 39.1 years (standard deviation [SD] = 10.2). The mean workplace bullying score was 7.7 (SD = 2.0), while the mean job burnout score was 7.7 (SD = 2.0). Among our nurses, 57.3% showed a high level of turnover intention. After eliminating confounders, we found that increased workplace bullying (adjusted beta = 0.031, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.023 to 0.039, p < 0.001) was associated with increased job burnout. Moreover, multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that increased turnover intention was more common among nurses who experienced higher levels of workplace bullying (adjusted odds ratio = 1.057, 95% CI = 1.043 to 1.071, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

We found a positive relationship between workplace bullying, job burnout, and turnover intention. Nurse managers, organizations, and policy-makers ought to consider such findings to intervene and decrease workplace bullying by improving working conditions.

Exploration of potential indicators of burnout, psychological distress and post-traumatic stress disorder, among Australian female first responders

There is limited research on the psychological wellbeing of female first responders (FRs) and therefore we explore potential indicators of burnout, psychological distress and post-traumatic stress disorder among Australian female FRs. We conducted an online health survey among Australian female FRs (fire, police, paramedical, aeromedical, remote area and other e.g., State Emergency Service). Of the 422 eligible participants who submitted the online survey, 286 completed at least 80% of all survey questions and were used in the final analyses. The main outcomes of interest were moderate burnout (compared to low burnout) and high scores for combined PCL-5/K10 (compared to low scores). Using logistical regression stepwise regression models, we analysed associations between the outcomes of interest and various work-psychosocial factors. Results showed the strongest indicators of moderate burnout to be, 1) returning to work with <12-hour break, 2) exposure to gossip and slander, 3) not enough time to do things, 4) and having experienced rape/sexual assault. The strongest indicators of higher PCL-5/K10 scores were, 1) exposure to unpleasant teasing, 2) pressure at work and home, 3) having experienced physical violence (e.g., beaten/mugged), and 4) someone close to them died unexpectedly. These findings show workforce stressors have more impact on female FRs psychological wellbeing, compared to lifetime traumatic exposures.

Workplace violence and the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder and burnout among nurses: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AIM

This review examined the association between workplace violence and the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and burnout among nurses.

BACKGROUND

The extent to which workplace violence is associated with an increased risk of PTSD and burnout in nurses remains unclear.

EVALUATION

We searched nine electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Chinese Biomedical, China National Knowledge Internet, and WANFANG).

KEY ISSUES

Overall, 114 full-text studies were identified; 43 met the inclusion criteria, of which 10 were included in the meta-analysis. Compared to their counterparts with non-exposure to workplace violence, nurses experiencing it had 2.13 and 2.25 times higher odds of reporting PTSD and burnout after adjusting the confounding factors. Additionally, the moderator and mediator factors might help reduce the risk of both in this population.

CONCLUSION

This study indicated that workplace violence increases the risk of PTSD and burnout.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Our review identified the magnitude of the association between exposure to workplace violence and the reported symptoms of PTSD and burnout in nurses. Furthermore, multi-targeted efforts directed at the identified social/organisational, task-related, and individual resources might help mitigate their harmful impact in the aforementioned population.